Port Huron Police program receives grant

Posted on March 28, 2017

The Port Huron Police Department has been able to recruit “hometown heroes” thanks to our James C. Acheson Fund.

“I believe the police department’s make-up should reflect the community that it serves,” said Chief Reaves. “And to fulfil that vision we enacted a progressive mindset to help improve the recruitment of people into the L/E profession. Hence, the ‘Home Town Heroes Program’ was created, with the assistance of grant funding from the Community Foundation.”

The program came about because Chief Michael Reaves said the department struggled to recruit and retain people for law enforcement jobs, a problem faced by police departments across the country.

The Acheson fund granted $12,000 over a two year period starting in 2015 so the department could pay for current cadets from the Port Huron area who fit the criteria to become a police officer to go to police academy. The Acheson fund also just extended program funding for another two years.

This funding allows for police cadets to obtain the required police academy training and ultimately return to work at the Port Huron Police Department.

The program has helped former cadet Jamie Brown to become an officer at Port Huron Police Department. Brown is the first person to receive Home Town Heroes funding.

Brown was a cadet with the Port Huron Police Department for two years before attending the Macomb County Community College Basic Police Academy. The City of Port Huron was honored to be able to hire Jamie as a police officer in March 2017.

Chief Reaves also modeled the Home Town Heroes program off the Community Foundation’s Come Home Reverse Scholarships, which awards $10,000 to recent college graduates to move back to St. Clair County to live and work. Chief Reaves encourages police officers who previously lived in Port Huron to return home to work.